Party Prep

[ehowton]

This Thanksgiving Weekend has given me plenty of time to get everything ready for the party despite the 70-degree evenings evaporating overnight late last week. Bummer. Now I'm hoping it will be dry. I've spent an inordinate amount of time tweaking my playlist. I want to set it and walk away. I don't want people fiddling with it. I've made additions and deletions, added more scores (only the short, immediately identifiable tracks, I promise) and dropped in a couple of handfuls of movie sound bytes dialog. I've tweaked the settings of iTunes (what there are), adjusted the EQ, and triple-checked the playlist for album art. I've decided on full-screen Cover Flow over insipid "visualization." Everything looks, and sounds awesome on this end. I'm pumped.




I anticipate most of the party taking place in the garage. We'll have one of the garage doors open allowing access to the front yard, allowing easy access to the keg (which I presume will be bone dry approximately 90-minutes after tapping it) to allow Mother Nature's assistance in keeping it iced. There will be a buffet table in the garage as well, with three crock-pots (one of them a veritable vat) of Texas chili and two of queso. Everyone's been so helpful in pitching in to ensure everything is covered. The number has swollen to nearly 50 confirmed, with the possibility of an additional twenty or thirty still unaccounted for. Yes, I could potentially have 80 folks at this party.

My wife decided the foyer would benefit from my rugs this time around. The largest middle rug was my first - I picked it up in Saudi; its my only machine-made rug. The rug to its right is a handmade rug with the weavers name (in arabic) sewn into as a signature centered near the bottom. The white highlights are silk. The one to the left of the big rug I picked up in Korea, its a handmade Pakistani rug. The other two are much smaller hand knotted rugs, both of them having been purchased in Virginia, one of them Indian made. They go somewhere different in each house I've had. I've never split them up before (I usually hang all five in a row) but I think they really invite you into the house here. The wrinkles are from being used as packing material for six months.




And while I anticipate the garage and front yard being filled with happy, drinking people - the interior of the house is not off-limits. I'm going to have several internet kiosks around the house so people can get online whenever they want to. I want them to be able to access the lj 'Guestbook' as well. Nonetheless, I took great care in getting all the unnecessary junk out of my office, vacuuming & cleaning it, and even hanging some things on the wall. I'll move in some more chairs the day of the party. We're down to the last five days, and I take my boy to Cub Scouts tonight. Time is fleeting.

Comments

[irulan-amy.livejournal.com]

Internet kiosks?! Cool. :D

I really like the hanging rugs - they are really lovely, and what a wonderful idea so they don't get worn.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Internet kiosks! In a variety of operating system choices...Just this past weekend members of the Tribal Council were trying to figure out how to get you down here :P Then we lost a key member to a business trip :(

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

I say we go to LA and kidnapp her.

[galinda822.livejournal.com]

Or we could go to LA and kidnap her!

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

We could do that too.

[galinda822.livejournal.com]

:)

[irulan-amy.livejournal.com]

If I go willingly is it still kidnapping? :D

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

When I first met galinda822, she suggested I watch A Life Less Ordinary.

[galinda822.livejournal.com]

And aren't you glad I did?! :)

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

But of course!

[irulan-amy.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I'll have to look it on IMDB.

[irulan-amy.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I love the vastness of your computer knowledge. :D

I can't believe how fast this weekend snuck up!

D'oh, stupid business trip. So one less person?

You guys are gonna have so much fun! *envious*

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

One less person. You wouldn't think it would make an impact, being 60+ people there and all, but he's a core component of the Tribal Council and he was going to make the pico de gallo. Hint: He uses fresh tomatillo's!

[glodowg.livejournal.com]

Sad to hear that he won't be present. I can offer my impersonation of his Picco, I do have HIS recipe.

Also, remind the spousal unit that I am bring a vat of chili also :)

Do you need chairs? I have 6 wooden folders that I could bring along.

What else do you need? Please do not say CHIPS!

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

While I love your willingness to help out, and though I adore you and your husband both, and even though I'm so glad that ya'll will be there, and we have room for all your kids - I can't tell you what a bad idea it is asking me these questions.

I simply don't have the answers you're looking for.

All I know is that we need chips.

*sigh*

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

My responses are limited.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Exactly!

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

Thanks little buddy! I knew you'd come through with the images. Now if we could only find your tie post and my Rosebud post.

[irulan-amy.livejournal.com]

60 people?! Wow.

I've never tried tomatillos in that. Yum!

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Finely diced. Its to die for.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I love the vastness of your computer knowledge. :D
drax0r is actually going to set up the wireless. He's twice as vast as I am ;)